


The Trickster Charade

by WindChimeGhost



Category: Avengers Assemble (Cartoon), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Action/Adventure, Gen, Humor, Infinity Gems, Infinity Stones, Short One Shot, Short Story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-15
Updated: 2019-03-15
Packaged: 2019-11-18 06:11:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18114914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WindChimeGhost/pseuds/WindChimeGhost
Summary: Loki randomly shows up at Avengers Tower. The weird part? His mind has been reduced to a child’s. Is it for real? Or is it a devious trick? The Avengers (even Thor) are skeptical, and they're forced to care for the trickster until they find out.~ This fanfic takes place sometime between the ‘Back to the Learning Hall’ and ‘Widow’s Run’ episodes of the Avengers Assemble animated series. Includes brief talk of canon events. There may or may not be spoilers thrown in. ~





	The Trickster Charade

**Author's Note:**

> ~ Comments are welcomed. But critique is not desired ~
> 
> FINALLY, I’m uploading this fic! YAY!! I’m celebrating because I’ve been struggling off and on to get this story out since 2016. Ugggggh. Yes, really. It’s THAT old. It’s been a pain and a half for some weird reason. I was going good on it, then toward the end, I just kept getting hung up on so many areas until it eventually grew frustrating. So I put it away while I worked on other things with plans to come back to it. And I DID go back to it several times since, but every time I got hung up again. So, this week, I decided that I was going to put that ending on it and finally get it out of my ‘work in progress’ folder. Because I’m tired of it being in there and tired of it hanging around my neck, constantly prodding me that it needs to be finished.
> 
> I’ll confess that I had a lot more planned for this fic, even though I meant for it to be a short story from the beginning, but decided not to go the original route with it due to the fact that it’s been gathering dust in my folder over the past several years. And the more I worked on it, the more I felt like it was getting kinda silly to a certain extent. I wanted it to stay on a sane, believable level while at the same time be funny and fun. I felt like I needed to just put an ending on it, wrap it up, and upload it as soon as possible before it grew stale and overdone. (And now that I've reread it, I feel like some areas of the plot are a bit weak. But, oh well.) Some of the unused ideas I had in mind for it will be saved away and recycled into another fanfic I plan to write eventually.
> 
> This fanfic takes place sometime between the ‘Back to the Learning Hall’ and ‘Widow’s Run’ episodes of Avengers Assemble, when the Avengers have the Infinity Gems locked away at Avengers Tower. There may or may not be spoilers thrown in. I CAN say there’s brief talk of some of the canon events throughout the story. If you haven’t seen Avengers Assemble, you won’t understand that part of this fic. And some of it might be a bit confusing.
> 
> I'm still very pleased with the first scene of this fic. From the beginning, I wanted to insert some of the classic humor shared between Hawkeye and the Hulk that we regularly see in the series, especially their knack for fighting over food (pickles!). And I personally feel like I nailed it. =P
> 
> And **please** remember that this fic goes along with the Avengers Assemble animated series. I’ve written it to fit into it as an episode. A few things ARE different from the MCU, such as Hawkeye’s personality. Those who are only familiar with the Marvel movies might think he’s out of character, but he isn’t. And I’m making this clear ahead of time so I don’t get pointless complaints later from readers who think I’ve gotten some of the characters OOC. I ask that you _please_ be aware of what you’re reading and what part of the Marvel universe it fits into.  
>  
> 
> Avengers Assemble and The Avengers and all related characters © Marvel
> 
> Fanfic and plot ©2016-2019 by me (please do not take, use, or edit without permission)

Hawkeye stomped angrily down the hallway and stopped outside the Hulk’s quarters. Not bothering to knock, he barged inside.

As usual, the room was spotless and devoid of furniture. Long shelves covered the walls, and on them were numerous glass figurines. The Hulk was casually sitting in the middle of the floor watching an old movie on a beat-up vintage TV. Without saying a word, Hawkeye marched up to him and waved the empty pickle jar he carried.

“I see you’ve done it again,” he said irritably. “Well, thanks for leaving me the jar.”

The Hulk remained silent, his brow drawn down and his stare fixed on the screen in front of him.

Hawkeye arched an eyebrow. “Have you even heard a word I’ve said?”

Sighing, the Hulk slammed a massive hand down on top of the TV to turn it off. Annoyed, he glared at the archer.

“What’s wrong?” he rumbled.

Hawkeye bent forward, waggling the empty jar in the Hulk’s face. “Pickles,” he said simply. “You ate the entire jar… _again_.”

“How do you know it was me?” the Hulk replied. “Could have been Thor.”

“I can’t believe it! We go through this every time. Come on, we all know it was you. It’s always you. Burp. Go ahead. Burp once.”

Hawkeye leaned over and sniffed the Hulk’s face. “Uh-huh, there! Pickle breath. You don’t even have to burp. I can already smell it on that sour puss of yours.”

“Oh, please,” the Hulk said, rolling his eyes. “The food is there for everyone. Learn to share.” He slammed his hand down on the TV again and turned it back on, clearly done with the conversation. He added in afterthought, “And don’t you act like a whiney crybaby and break one of my figurines again.”

“Crybaby?!?” Hawkeye said a little too shrilly. He cleared his throat and straightened up, trying to keep his temper under control. “Puh, don’t worry. I’m not going to touch your old zoo. I learned that lesson the last time. Not gonna end up in Mojoland again…or someplace worse.”

“Good,” said the Hulk. “Kindly leave.”

“You still owe me a jar of pickles!”

“I’ll get you one the next time I go to the store,” the Hulk said sarcastically. “Now leave.”

“Fine, I’ll just go make myself a peanut butter sandwich instead unless you ate all the peanut butter, too.”

Hulk didn’t reply. A smirk lifted one corner of his mouth.

Hawkeye’s eyebrows rose. “Aw, come on! You ate the peanut butter, too??”

“I didn’t say anything,” Hulk said. He let out a loud belch. “Besides, I didn’t see your name on it.”

Hawkeye opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, the alarm sounded throughout the tower, alerting everyone of some dire emergency. The Hulk slammed his hand down on the TV, turning it off, and got to his feet. He grabbed Hawkeye by his quiver and lifted him off the floor, carrying him to the door. The pickle jar fell from the archer’s hand and rolled into a corner.

“HEY! I can walk on my own,” Hawkeye griped as he flailed and kicked.

The Hulk quickly walked down the corridor, ignoring Hawkeye’s long stream of protests and insults, and stopped in the doorway of the sitting room. Hawkeye still dangled in his hold. The other Avengers were gathered around something in the middle of the floor. From where the Hulk stood, neither he nor Hawkeye could tell what it was. Apparently, it wasn’t much of a threat. Otherwise, the room would be in an uproar.

The Hulk thought it was a pity. He was hoping to smash whatever it was.

“You can put me down now.” Hawkeye squirmed. In reply to his request, Hulk let go of the quiver, and Hawkeye dropped into an undignified heap on the floor. The Hulk sauntered forward to join the others. “Thanks a lot.”

“You’re welcome,” Hulk replied over his shoulder.

Curious, Hawkeye adjusted his sunglasses and got to his feet and followed after Hulk, craning his neck to catch a glimpse of whatever was keeping the Avengers’ attention.

“Brother, get up,” Thor said as Hawkeye and Hulk approached. At hearing Thor say the word ‘brother’, instinctively, Hawkeye whipped out his bow and pulled out an arrow.

“Is there a problem here, guys?” Hawkeye asked.

“You could say that,” Tony Stark said, pointing at the floor. Hawkeye looked down. There, lying on his side was Loki. The trickster was lifeless and quiet—dead or unconscious, maybe? Hawkeye couldn’t tell.

“Loki again?” Hawkeye lowered his bow a tad. “What’s it going to take for this pain-in-the-butt to take a hint and get lost? Um…what’s wrong with him, anyway? Is he asleep?”

“Watch what you say.” Thor glared at the archer. “He may be a pain in the hindquarters, as you say, but he is still my brother. As for why Loki does not stir, we do not know.” He turned a worried face to Loki. “He is breathing, so he is still alive. But he refuses to move.” Thor nudged his brother’s side with the toe of his boot again.

“He just suddenly appeared out of nowhere in this position,” Falcon said. “Do you realize how alarming it is to be walking through a room and suddenly trip over the God of Mischief lying on the floor like a dog?”

“Come on, brother, get up,” Thor repeated. He hunched over the figure, reaching a hand out to shake Loki’s shoulder.

“Where’s Widow?” Captain America asked. He scanned the group and noticed she was the only one missing.

“Right here,” Natasha answered as she entered the room. “Sorry, I’m late. What did I miss?”

“Not much. Just a sleeping god,” said Tony.

Hulk cracked his knuckles and let out a loud roar, sending everyone stepping back. Loki gasped and bolted upright to a sitting position. He gazed up at the Hulk’s face, his blue eyes exhibiting fear.

“He isn’t asleep now,” the Hulk said, a satisfied smirk curling his mouth.

“D-d-don’t hurt me, please!” Loki whimpered. He quickly crawled on hands and knees across the floor, trying to get as far away as he could from the hulking green guy. The scene was both comical and shocking to the Avengers as they stood and stared. Loki came to a stop behind the sofa and cowered. He looked at each Avenger in turn. “I haven’t done anything wrong. Honest!”

The Avengers continued to stare silently, puzzling over Loki’s odd reaction and trembling form. It wasn’t the Loki they were used to. He looked like a frightened child. Although, a few of them had their doubts and wondered if it wasn’t a trick of some sort. Tony and Natasha, especially, looked on with skepticism.

“Take it easy,” Captain America said softly.

Loki shook his head and lifted his arms to shield his face. “Don’t hurt me,” he repeated with a whimper.

“Loki, what is wrong with you? What happened?” Thor asked. He stepped forward, cautiously approaching his brother.

Loki fixed Thor with a tearful, confused gaze. His eyes blinked, and he glanced around him at the expectant faces.

“I-I don’t remember,” he finally replied. “My mind is a foggy mess. I remember blacking out and…and then I woke up here.” His eyes drifted over to Natasha again. He smiled. “Mama!” he suddenly shouted as he ran to her, his cape billowing behind him and his arms outstretched to give her a hug. The woman backed away, holding her hands up in front of her to fend off the trickster.

“ _Excuse_ me?” she said, wrinkling her nose in disgust and sounding a bit offended. Loki stopped and stared.

Hawkeye couldn’t control the amused laugh that burst out of his mouth. He quickly tightened his lips to stifle it and turned his head to the side.

“You _are_ my mommy, right?” Loki asked innocently. He couldn’t understand her reaction.

“Do I _look_ like your mommy?” she countered.

Loki looked her up and down and then nodded. He started walking toward her again, his arms ready to wrap around her.

“No way,” Widow said, backing away.

Loki’s smile faded. Looking hurt, he turned to Captain America. “Are you my daddy?”

“Er…no.”

Loki turned questioning eyes to Tony then.

“No! No, no,” he quickly replied to Loki’s silent question, holding up his hands. “I’m not your dad or anything else.”

Tears filled Loki’s eyes as he sat down on the floor in a cross-legged fashion. He stared in front of him and pouted.

“O-kay…I’m not the only one a little freaked out by this, am I?” Falcon asked.

“No,” Hawkeye said. “No, you’re not.”

“I’m your brother, Loki,” Thor said gently. His voice was laced with obvious concern. He walked over, bent down on one knee, and laid a comforting hand on Loki’s shoulder. “The only family you have in this room.”

A smile appeared on the trickster’s face as he reached out and embraced Thor. He snuggled his face into the God of Thunder’s shoulder.

“Where are Mommy and Daddy?” Loki asked.

“They…are not here,” Thor answered. “Father is in Asgard.”

“Oh.” Loki sounded disappointed. “Can I go see them?”

“Perhaps,” Thor replied. There was a hint of hesitancy in his voice. The Avengers could tell Thor was holding himself back from giving in to Loki’s wishes. For what reason, they didn’t know. Maybe it was due to being cautious? Like them, he was apparently having a hard time swallowing Loki’s present condition as being the truth.

Loki lifted his hand and stuck a thumb in his mouth, closing his eyes. Eyebrows rose all over the room as each Avenger exchange glances with each other. They remained silent, not really knowing what to say to this new action.

Hawkeye’s face displayed an odd mixture of amusement and disgust. He wasn’t sure whether to whip out his phone to take a picture or be deeply disturbed.

“Do you seriously not know who we are?” said Captain America.

Loki shook his head in reply.

“The Avengers doesn’t ring a bell?” Falcon asked. Again, Loki just shook his head and nuzzled Thor’s shoulder.

“It would seem that Loki’s mind has been turned…childlike,” Tony said, clearing his throat. He took a second look to make sure he was seeing Loki correctly. “Never mind why. How it happened is the question I want to know the answer to.”

“It can’t be the Time Gem,” said Falcon. “We’ve got that locked away. Besides, if it _was_ the work of the gem he would be physically shrinking in size and age like Tony did, right? But he’s not. He’s still an adult.”

Loki, still hugging Thor, shifted his eyes to look at Falcon.

“Magic is the only answer,” Thor said grimly. “It could be the work of the Enchantress or some sorcerer I know not of. There is no telling what my brother has gotten himself into. And there is no way of knowing since he seems to have no memory of it in his present state.”

“Wonderful. So what do we do? Babysit him until he goes back to being his normal, annoying self?” Hawkeye asked. “And please tell me he’s still potty trained because I am _not_ changing any god diapers.”

“I’m with Hawkeye on this one,” Falcon said, trying to hide a smile. “I’d do the Hulk’s laundry before I would change Loki’s diaper.”

“For once, I’m not even going to comment on that,” said Tony. “God diapers? Really, Hawkeye?”

The archer shrugged, a smirk appearing on his lips. He glanced at Black Widow.

“Don’t look at me,” she said.

Loki scowled, both annoyed and disturbed by the conversation.

“Do not worry. I will care for him during his stay here,” said Thor, standing up. “He is my brother, after all. I hold myself responsible for looking after him.” He placed his hands under Loki’s arms and hefted him up to hold him. He couldn’t help but smile at his younger brother. Loki gave a weak smile in return before turning his head to look at the other Avengers, thumb still in his mouth.

“Stay here?” Hawkeye blurted out. “You mean Loki stay here…at the tower?”

“Of course,” Thor tilted his head. “Where else would you expect him to stay in such a condition?”

“I dunno. I just wasn’t aware we had voted on the God of Mischief staying here with us.” He turned to Tony and Steve. “Are you okay with this?”

Stark looked long and hard at the trickster in Thor’s arms. Loki gave a genuine, convincing smile around the thumb in his mouth, his eyes sparkling. He admitted the guy didn’t look evil now. His usual shifty expression had been replaced by a child-like innocence that seemed trusting enough. But something inside Tony still sounded out warning alarms. Even so, he knew Thor would put up a fight if he said Loki would have to go.

Tony finally gave a shrug. “He can stay for now, I suppose, although I should hand him over to S.H.I.E.L.D.”

At the mentioning of S.H.I.E.L.D., Loki curled up in Thor’s arms and hid his face, uttering a faint whimper.

“It is all right, brother, Tony did not mean it,” Thor said, patting Loki’s back. He brought Loki’s cape around to wrap around the trickster like a blanket.

“He seems to remember what S.H.I.E.L.D. is…” Falcon mused under his breath as he turned a look to Natasha. She gave him the same look.

“It is decided, then. He shall stay here,” Thor said jovially. “All of us need to make him feel welcomed.”

Loki raised his head and peered at the group. He adjusted the thumb in his mouth, curling fingers over his nose.

The moment was awkward. And that was putting it lightly. Everyone exchanged glances again, waiting for the other to make the first move. Finally, Hulk gave Hawkeye a shove forward.

“Hey!” he shouted as he stumbled and caught his balance. He pushed his glasses back on the bridge of his nose and glowered at the Hulk. He walked over to where Thor stood. “Yeah, welcome to the tower,” he mumbled before walking past and plopping himself down on the couch.

Each Avenger welcomed Loki in his or her own way. Captain America and Tony gave him warnings at the end of their greetings. When Thor finally put Loki down, the trickster joined Hawkeye on the couch, the latter reluctantly offering a video game controller. Loki accepted it timidly.

Thor watched closely as Loki joined Hawkeye in the game. Hawkeye explained the controls to him, and Loki caught on pretty fast. When Thor saw all was going well and Loki was actually behaving, he turned and motioned for Tony and Captain America to follow him to the farthest side of the room. Hulk, Falcon, and Widow also joined them.

“I do not trust him,” Thor said when they were out of earshot. “I want to, but all of this seems too…”

“…random?” Tony finished. “Sudden? Weird?”

Thor nodded as he answered, “Aye.”

Everyone nodded their agreement.

“It’s too early to say, though,” Captain America pointed out. “If he’s faking all this, we’ll have to wait and catch him at it when he makes a mistake and call him out when we have proof. Otherwise, we’ll just be falsely accusing.”

“Aye, agreed,” Thor said. “If it is not a trick, I would feel bad for accusing him of something he cannot help.”

“So what do you suggest?” Tony asked.

“We shall wait,” said Thor. He glanced over at Loki. “I would also suggest keeping our eyes on him. If he _is_ tricking us, then it can only mean there is something here that he wants.”

“HEY! That’s cheating!” Hawkeye’s voice suddenly caused the group to look toward the couch.

“I did not cheat!” Loki’s voice screamed back in defense. “You just don’t know how to play.”

“Oh, really?” Hawkeye snorted indignantly. “I know more about it than you do. I’ve been playing it longer.”

“It seems we have more than one child in this house…” Captain America said dryly.

“You’re just now noticing?” Natasha said. “You need to work around him longer.”

Hawkeye and Loki’s argument continued for a few more minutes, ending with Loki throwing his controller down in frustration.

“Watch it, will you!?” said Hawkeye. “The Hulk destroys enough of those things on a regular basis.”

The Hulk scowled dangerously at Hawkeye’s words.

Loki stuck his tongue out at the archer.

“Enough!” Thor shouted angrily. Loki jumped and turned around, looking over his shoulder timidly. Hawkeye looked in Thor’s direction, too. “Loki, come here.”

The trickster got up and slowly walked over to stand in front of Thor. He twisted a corner of his cape in his hands. His face displayed innocence and timidity, something Thor had not seen on his brother’s face for a long, long time. It made Thor want to trust him, but there was still something there that gnawed at his mind—something that just didn’t feel right. After everything Loki had put him and his teammates through on more than one occasion, he had a hard time giving in to the idea that Loki might be telling the truth for once. But yet, if Loki really was faking, he was certainly doing a good job of it. Still, he _did_ help them defeat Doctor Doom when he tamed the Midgard Serpent and seized control of the Destroyer…right before turning against them. There was still a shred of good in Loki, Thor could feel it. And it was that shred of goodness that he clung to and hoped to bring to the surface some day.

“I think you are in need of a nap,” Thor said.

Loki blinked. “I do not need a nap!” he snapped. “That man accused me of cheating in his game!”

“And did you?”

“No! Of course not!” Loki frowned. “How could I cheat when I am unfamiliar with the game? He was showing me how to play, and the next thing I know, he’s accusing me of cheating. And I wasn’t cheating! I was simply playing it the way he showed me.”

Thor looked over at Hawkeye, who slowly shook his head in reply to the silent question.

Thor sighed and reached to take Loki by the hand. “Never mind, brother. It is time for a nap just the same.”

Loki tried to jerk his hand away. “No! I’m not tired.”

“Your attitude says otherwise,” Thor said firmly. “I will show you to your room.”

“This is most unfair!” Loki yelled as he was dragged to the elevator. Loki’s loud protests could be heard until the elevator doors closed.

“He’s in need of a nap, all right, _and_ a good spanking,” Hawkeye mumbled after the two Asgardians left. He turned to the group. “Have you ever seen such a spoiled brat? You seriously think we’re gonna be able to live here a week with him?”

“I do _not_ want a nap!” Loki continued to cry as he twisted in Thor’s hold.

Thor led him down the long hallway, eventually stopping in front of a large door leading to one of the tower’s guest quarters.

It was rare they had visitors, but Tony kept an entire floor full of empty rooms available just in case. Thor knew the room across the hall normally went to Ant-Man on the occasions when he stopped by to help out with experiments involving Pym particles. Since the scientist was off doing other things currently, Loki would have the whole floor to himself. It was then that Thor wondered if the trickster would be better off staying near his own room. Since Loki’s mind had been changed to a child’s, he might get scared of being alone.

He would consider it while Loki took a nap. For now, the guest room would suffice. The floor was quiet and Loki’s tantrum wouldn’t disturb anyone here.

“Here you are, brother. I hope it will be comfortable.” Thor pulled Loki inside and stood in the middle of the room. By this time, Loki had quieted his protesting and took a couple of steps toward the bed.

The place was spacious, like every other part of the building, and had simple furniture, a large window overlooking the city, and an adjoining private bathroom.

“It looks comfortable,” Loki mumbled at last.

Thor walked up to him, his face still showing concern. But Loki noticed something else there—a touch of anger or annoyance, maybe?

“Loki, I will do my best to help you in whatever way I can,” Thor said in a gentle whisper. “Whoever has done this to you will pay dearly. Or if it was the result of your own doing, I will still work to make it right.”

Loki nodded, feeling a ‘but’ coming.

“But, I want you to know right now that if this is a trick devised to aide some devious scheme of yours, you will be sorry.”

Loki flopped down on the bed, curling into a fetal position. He took his cape in one hand and put the thumb of his other hand into his mouth. His innocent eyes peered up at Thor.

“I’m not tricking anyone,” he mumbled. “I’m sleepy. I wish to go to bed.”

Thor cocked an eyebrow. “I thought you said you didn’t need a nap?”

“I changed my mind,” Loki said.

Thor remained standing a few minutes. “Very well,” he said at last, “I will leave you to rest.”

When the door shut, Loki continued to lay on the bed, unmoving. When he saw Thor was not coming back, he breathed out a sigh of relief. He took his thumb out of his mouth and shot a scowl in the direction Thor had exited.

“By the Norns, I thought they’d never leave me alone.” Loki wiped his thumb on his cape. “And to think I actually hugged Thor.” He shuddered. He rolled over on his back to stare up at the ceiling. A rumbling started deep within his throat that worked its way up and burst forth in a hearty, merry laugh. He laughed for a good ten minutes before he fell back into a relaxed position.

“After all this time, I can’t believe how gullible my pathetic excuse for a brother still is. That goes double for his teammates. They know I’m the trickster of Asgard—the lie smith—but they still fall for the simplest tricks. An innocent look, a little childish play, and they think my mind has reverted back to a child. This is just too good to be true.” He sobered momentarily. “Granted this behavior I’m exhibiting is most unbecoming, but if it gets me those Infinity Gems, it’ll be well worth it.”

Loki hopped off the bed and walked to the door. He waited a while longer to make sure he was truly alone and then cautiously ventured out into the hallway. He wandered aimlessly around for twenty minutes, teleporting to different floors.

“ _Where_ do they keep the gems…?” he pondered to himself after searching two floors and not finding anything. “This door, perhaps?” He pushed it open. The room was bigger on the inside and had the appearance of being Asgardian. “My stupid brother’s room,” Loki grumbled as he stepped inside. “I doubt he would have the gems, but I guess there’s no harm in looking.”

Loki didn’t take but two or three steps, when he heard a loud growling and snarling and saw something running awkwardly toward him. It was big, green, and had horns and terrible teeth.

Loki gasped, his eyes widening. “Bilgy!” he squeaked out.

Thor’s pet Bilgesnipe, Bilgy, had never liked Loki. The trickster didn’t know why. He secretly suspected that Thor had trained the beast to attack him on purpose. But deep down, Loki also knew that probably wasn’t true. Whatever the case, Bilgy proved more than once to have a disagreeable temperament whenever the trickster was near.

Loki turned and bolted out the door and down the hall. Bilgy ran in pursuit of the intruder, slamming against the hall wall hard enough to put a dent in it. His bulky form thumped noisily against the hard floor as he ran after Loki.

“Good Bilgy,” Loki said with a slight whimper, glancing back to see Bilgy coming up fast despite his bulk. “Good boy, good boy, good boy.”

The trickster ran through the maze of hallways until he got close to the sitting room. Here he teleported away, back to his bedroom, before Bilgy could use him as a chew toy. The Bilgesnipe snapped at thin air as Loki blinked out of view and continued to barrel forward directly into the sitting room.

“What the…?” Tony exclaimed, getting up from his chair.

“Bilgy?” Thor turned a puzzled expression to the Bilgesnipe.

“Whoa!” Hawkeye cried, jumping to his feet and letting his game controller fall to the floor. “Who let the mongrel out?”

“One guess…” the Hulk mumbled.

Thor quickly ran to Bilgy’s side, getting his attention and calming him. “Steady now, Bilgy. That’s a good boy,” he said. He scratched the Bilgesnipe around the neck and under his chin. The creature fell over on his side, tongue lolling out the side of his mouth like some kind of grotesque bulldog.

Tony Stark crossed his arms over his chest, exchanging a glance with Steve and then with Falcon.

After Thor returned Bilgy to his quarters, he stopped by Loki’s room, eager to hear what the trickster had to say about the recent event. He shared his teammates’ suspicions but part of him hoped he was wrong.

“Loki? Are you awake?” When Loki failed to answer, Thor entered. “Loki?”

Loki’s helmet lay on the floor. And there was a lump in the middle of the bed directly in front of him. Thor walked forward and snatched off the cover. Startled, Loki’s eyes flew open.

“I didn’t do anything,” he said innocently.

Thor’s eyebrows rose. “What makes you think you are in trouble?”

“I-I don’t know.” Loki sat up.

“Did you sleep well?”

Loki nodded. “Yes.”

“There was a Bilgesnipe running loose through the tower earlier. And when I took it back to my room, the door was standing open. You wouldn’t by chance know anything about that, would you?”

“A Bilgesnipe? N-no, why would I? I’ve been here taking my nap.”

Thor studied him. Finally, he stretched out a hand and ruffled Loki’s hair, patting his shoulder. “I just wanted to make sure.”

Loki’s eyes watered and he pooched out his lower lip. “Y-you don’t trust me?”

Thor was thrown for a loop by the question. “Er, yes, brother, I do trust you, but my comrades and I do not know how the Bilgesnipe got loose from my room. We were all in the room of sitting.”

“Maybe it was the maids?”

“Tony does not have maids or servants of any sort other than his machines.”

Loki’s eyes darted around nervously before coming to rest on Thor again. “It wasn’t me,” he repeated, trying to look as innocent as possible.

Thor gently massaged the back of his brother’s neck, a smile returning to his lips. “Do not worry about it. No harm was done. Care to join me and the others now that you are awake?”

Loki gave a timid shrug.

“Come.” Thor helped his brother to stand. “I’m sure Hawkeye will enjoy having you join him in the games again.”

“As long as he doesn’t accuse me of cheating.”

“I will make sure he doesn’t. Now, come.”

Loki forced a smile and a small nod, then he followed after Thor.

 

Later that evening…

“What did you want to see us about?” Steve asked. The Avengers gathered in Tony Stark’s lab for a meeting shortly after he announced that he found something interesting on the tower’s security cameras. Loki had since retired to his room for the night after eating dinner with the heroes and beating Hawkeye at video games. The archer had complained and whined, saying Loki had just gotten lucky. The truth was he was just glad to be playing against someone who didn’t break the controllers, as the Hulk was prone to do.

“It concerns Loki,” Tony replied. “I’m thinking our hunches about him are correct.”

“In what way?” Falcon asked.

“Surveillance cameras show how your Bilgesnipe got loose, Thor.” Tony brought up several digital screens in the air, moving one to the side with his hand and minimizing it. “JARVIS, replay previous footage again.”

“As you wish, sir,” the robotic voice replied.

The scene on the screen in front of them changed to show Loki’s stroll through two of the tower’s upper floors, leading up to him creeping down the hallway and opening the door and entering Thor’s room. A few seconds later, the trickster flew out with Bilgy in hot pursuit. Loki’s frantic trip down the hall continued until he teleported away right before Bilgy entered the sitting room.

“Loki,” Thor growled.

Hawkeye laughed. “That’s hilarious. Play it again.”

“I might be crazy, but…during the first part of that vid, it almost appears like he’s looking for something,” said Falcon. “What could he possibly be looking for?”

“I’m guessing it isn’t the bathroom,” Hawkeye said.

“The Infinity Gems,” said Widow. “It has to be. It’s the only thing we have that he would want.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that.” Hawkeye smiled. “Falcon’s mom’s cookies come in a very close second.”

“Mmmm…cookies,” Hulk rumbled. He licked his lips.

“I think Widow’s right,” Captain America agreed. “He must be faking all this in order to infiltrate the tower and steal the gems.”

“Anything is possible with Loki,” said Thor. “He is, after all, the trickster.”

“And to think we actually fell for it,” said Hawkeye, sounding miffed.

“Who says we fell for it?” Tony said. “We’ve had our suspicions all along. We just needed proof to back it up.”

“Now we have it.” Falcon smiled.

“Wait…what? And no one bothered to fill me in on this?” Hawkeye said.

Everyone turned in his general direction as if they couldn’t believe he was that stupid.

“You’ve got a brain. Use it,” Hulk said, poking Hawkeye’s head with a finger. The archer scowled.

“So, you want us to bring him in?” Widow asked.

Tony thought a moment, stroking his beard. “No. We’ll play along with his little act and see how far he takes this. If Loki enjoys acting like a child, then we’ll treat him like one. He’s got to have a breaking point somewhere.”

“I’m not sure I follow,” Captain America said.

Hawkeye smiled mischievously, moving his purple-tinted glasses down his nose and peering over them. “I think I do. Oooooh, Tony, I like your style.”

“Thanks.” Tony shared a knowing smile with the archer. Then he turned to Widow. “Move the gems to a different location, just to be safe.”

Widow nodded.

“I want to make sure we’re one step ahead of him,” Tony continued.

“Mind filling the rest of us in on your little scheme?” Falcon said. Tony grinned and motioned for them to gather around him.

 

When Loki awoke the next morning, he right away knew something was different. He felt of the bed sheets and then his clothing, trying to figure out what it was.

He stopped.

He again patted at his clothes. Looking down, he was momentarily puzzled by what he saw. Instead of his Asgardian attire, he was dressed in soft, fleecy pajamas. He pulled at them, wondering how he managed to become dressed in them. He knew he had fallen asleep in his regular clothes the night before. He scanned the room, but his clothes were nowhere to be seen. His helmet was still on the floor beside the bed, though, and so were his boots.

Loki ran his hands down the length of his body, inspecting every inch of the pajamas. They were green plaid and were extremely soft and cozy, he admitted. And…he stopped again, pushing his hands under him. He felt of the outline of the buttoned flap in the seat of the pants. His cheeks flushed.

“Who dressed me in such outlandish clothing?” he griped aloud.

Loki’s question was answered when the door to his room swished open and in walked Thor.

“Good morning, brother!” he greeted cheerily. “Glad to see you are up.”

Loki almost betrayed his act by shouting angrily, but fortunately, he stopped himself.

“Wha-what happened to my clothes?” he asked innocently instead as he fought to contain his temper.

“I changed you while you were sleeping. I thought you would enjoy being a bit more comfortable.” Thor tugged at Loki’s sleeve. “Tony found these lying around.”

“Oh.”

“But…where are my other clothes?”

“In the closet over there.”

Loki looked toward the closet door.

Thor lifted Loki up to carry. “Come, brother, we shall eat breakfast.”

Loki wanted to squirm. The position Thor insisted on carrying him in was most undignified and embarrassing. But then again he couldn’t complain. At least his plan was working like a charm. The big oaf really thought his mind had been turned into a child’s. He would just have to put up with the treatment until he found the gems.

Thor walked out of the elevator and made his way to the kitchen, where the other Avengers were in the process of fixing food. A few of them glanced in Thor’s direction, ignoring the fact that he was carrying Loki.

“Here you go,” Thor said. He gently lowered Loki onto a nearby chair.

“Oh, look. He’s got a convenient dropdown panel in the back now so we can whip his butt when he’s being naughty,” Hawkeye said with a smirk.

Black Widow elbowed him in the stomach.

“What?!” the archer said. “I’ll be glad to lay one of my arrows across his rear any time you want me to.”

Loki shot him a scowl before remembering he was slipping out of character. He quickly turned the scowl into a pout as Thor worked to make him comfortable.

“I’m not going to be naughty,” he said softly. He felt his cheeks flush.

“Of course you’re not,” Thor said, smiling. Loki couldn’t help noticing the glances the Avengers shared before they went back to fixing their breakfast. He thought he caught a smirk from Tony and an amused smile from Steve.

Thor pulled a baby’s bib up to Loki’s chin and tied it around his neck. Loki’s eyes widened and he looked down at the new addition. His eyes shifted to Thor. Was he serious?

Loki opened his mouth to protest but snapped it closed again. He looked down at the bib, his cheeks flushing slightly.

“Would you hand me Loki’s breakfast, please?” Thor said, waving to the plate on the counter. Falcon moved to gather it up and hand it to the thunder prince. Loki could tell the boy was trying to keep a straight face the whole time. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but the air in the room seemed to have changed since his arrival.

“Is that for me?” Loki asked timidly.

“Yes, brother,” Thor answered, grinning. He pulled up another chair and placed a towel over his arm. He moved the scrambled eggs around on the plate before scooping up a spoonful. Carefully, he moved the spoon toward Loki’s mouth.

Loki recoiled, wrinkling his nose. Enough was enough, he thought. He reached out to take the spoon from Thor’s hand.

“I can feed myself,” he said.

“No, brother, I will feed you.” Thor pulled the spoon away. “You have been through a trying time. Just relax, and I shall take care of you.”

Worry washed over the trickster’s face as he looked from the spoon to Thor again. He briefly glanced at the other Avengers.

“Come on, Loki, open your mouth.”

Loki clamped his mouth shut and shook his head.

“Loki, if you do not eat, I will have to force-feed you.”

“That’s not fair! If I don’t feel like eating, I don’t feel like—mmmmhph!”

Thor took the opportunity and shoved the spoon in Loki’s mouth while he was talking. The trickster had no choice but to chew and swallow. His temper flared dangerously high, and he was seconds away from blowing his act. But he regained control and calmed down. Pouting, he allowed Thor to spoon-feed him the rest of his breakfast, feeling utterly ridiculous all the while.

The rest of the Avengers took their breakfast and left the kitchen quietly, leaving Thor to tend to Loki on his own while they concocted other irritating ways to get back at Loki.

“There you are, brother,” Thor finally said, spooning the last bite into Loki’s mouth. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“No,” Loki said softly, putting on an innocent face again. At least Thor feeding him this way allowed him time to think. He almost lost it earlier, which would have cost him dearly. He would have to watch himself from now on, no matter what they do to him. He had to keep reminding himself they weren’t doing it to annoy him. They were doing it because they thought his mind really had been changed into a child’s.

They were doing it because his plan was working.

Setting aside the plate and spoon, Thor wiped off Loki’s face. He then put his hands under Loki’s arms and lifted him off the chair. He placed Loki over his shoulder and commenced patting his back, gently at first, but when Loki refused to burp for him, he patted harder.

Annoyed by the treatment, Loki began to kick. “What are you doing?” he said irritably.

“Burping you,” Thor replied.

“This is stupid!” Loki kicked harder. “Ow!” Loki yelped when Thor’s hand came down on his bottom instead of his back. He frowned. “You missed.”

“Who says I missed?” Thor smirked.

Loki kept quiet, a chill running down his back. He hung loosely and let Thor continue patting his back. It actually wasn’t so bad. In fact, it felt good, comforting. But his body wasn’t going to do what Thor wanted him to do…not currently, anyway.

“Are you going to burp for me?” Thor asked gently.

“How should I know?”

Thor continued patting for twenty more minutes, at times rubbing soothing circles into the trickster’s back. Loki caught himself wanting to doze.

When it was obvious Loki wasn’t going to burp, Thor gave up. He might have been playing along, but something deep within him had enjoyed this moment with his little brother. It had been a long time since he did anything of this nature, and it brought back memories.

Smiling, Thor ruffled Loki’s hair and stood, carrying his brother to the sitting room. Here he placed Loki down on the couch and handed him a sippy cup full of apple juice. Something inside Loki died when his eyes landed on the cup. He looked up at the smiling face of his brother, then down to the cup again. Maybe he could get away with not drinking from it. He placed it in his lap and curled up on one side of the couch.

Thor sat down beside him.

“Hey, what about watching some cartoons?” said Hawkeye, walking up to the couch. It was perfectly obvious he was trying to hide the smile that wanted to appear.

Thor grinned and looked to Loki for his answer.

Loki wanted to protest, but he kept himself in check. “What are cartoons?” he asked innocently as if he’d never heard of them before.

“You’ve never seen cartoons?” Hawkeye gasped. “You’re in for a treat, then.”

“They are stories set to moving artwork,” Thor explained. “Colorful, simple, and fun.”

“And I found the perfect one.” Hawkeye pushed a button on the remote and Spongebob Squarepants appeared on the TV screen.

“Oooooh! Cartoons!” Hulk said, bounding across the room and roughly seating himself on the couch, nearly coming close to catapulting Thor and Loki into the air. “Hulk LOVE cartoons!”

 _Why am I not surprised_ , Loki thought. The trickster shot the big green blob a death glare, not exactly thrilled with him being this close to him.

For two agonizing hours, Loki sat quietly through several episodes of Spongebob and several episodes of a cartoon meant for much younger viewers. Loki secretly admitted that Spongebob wasn’t too bad, but the last cartoon Hawkeye chose was excruciatingly painful. The characters were annoyingly cute, the dialogue was horrible, and there was basically no plot. Just a bunch of random educational babble shoved into a twenty minute colorful, cute, sugar-coated, feel-good nightmare. Mortal children actually watch this stuff?

Halfway through, Loki stole a glance around him, taking note of the Avengers. Most everyone looked as bored and annoyed as he felt. Except for the Hulk, who was thoroughly enjoying every moment while shoving handfuls of popcorn into his mouth that he had…pulled from somewhere.

Thor was asleep beside him. Taking the opportunity, Loki carefully took the sippy cup and shoved it into his brother’s mouth.

Thor snorted and woke up with a jolt. “Wha??” He looked over at Loki, who was faking being asleep. Thor moved, the sippy cup rolling down his chest to the floor. The loud thump it made on the carpet startled Loki and made him betray his act. He opened his eyes.

“Hey, guys! I know what would be fun,” said Falcon. The younger Avenger entered the room, grinning from ear to ear while he held up some crayons and coloring books. “Why don’t we color pretty pictures? I always enjoyed doing this when I was little.”

“Excellent idea!” Thor beamed.

“Ooooooh!” The Hulk smiled.

Hawkeye turned off the TV and stood up. “Sounds like a great idea to me. Even _I_ have to admit that cartoon was too much cute. Yuck.”

Another little part of Loki died inside. Much to his disgust, he allowed Thor to take him by the hand and lead him to the table. Falcon was already in the process of spreading out the stack of coloring books.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll pass,” said Tony. “I’ve got work to do elsewhere. Have fun.” With this, he left the room.

“I’m going to take his lead,” Steve said. “I’ve got work to do as well. Let me know if you need…help…with anything.”

“Will do,” Falcon replied. He turned to Loki. “Here, which one do you want? We’ve got Paw Patrol, My Little Pony, Dora, farm animals, and…ooooh, dinosaurs! How about dinosaurs? You like dinosaurs?”

“I call dibs on the Star Wars one,” said Hawkeye, reaching across the table to nab it.

“Hulk want My Little Pony. Hulk LOVE ponies!”

Falcon handed the Hulk the book he asked for.

Loki held his temper, but he was getting dangerously close to losing it. He was going to have to find those gems and get out of here fast before he ended up losing his mind. But how? He needed a diversion or some excuse to be alone.

He watched as everyone took a coloring book and passed the crayons around.

“Here, Hulk, I got you some of the large crayons,” Falcon handed the box to him. “But you still need to be careful.”

Smiling, the Hulk accepted them, opening the box and pulling out pink.

“Thor…” Loki started.

“Yes?”

“I…uh…I…”

Thor cocked an eyebrow.

“I need to use the little boy’s room.”

“The nearest one is down the hall. Third door on your right.”

Loki got up and left the room. The Avengers exchanged looks with each other.

Once Loki was down the hallway, he glanced behind him, then teleported away to another floor.

“Finally,” he breathed out. “Now to find where those gems are located.” He looked down at himself, noticing he was still wearing the pajamas Thor dressed him in. “But first…”

He teleported again, appearing in his bedroom. Quickly, he changed into his regular clothes, putting on his boots and helmet last. He walked over to a panel on the wall, tapped it, and brought up a map of the tower.

He smiled. “There you are.”

Loki materialized in the middle of the hallway leading to the vault where he knew the gems had to be. Finally! They would be in his hands.

He took a step forward but stopped and jumped when he felt a heavy hand clamp down on his shoulder.

Slowly, he turned around and peered into the smiling face of Thor.

Loki’s face fell.

“Sorry, brother, but I can not let you steal the gems.”

Loki sighed and looked past Thor. Tony, Steve, Falcon, Widow, and the rest were filling the doorway.

“Okay, what gave me away?”

“Your little chase scene with Bilgy was caught on the tower’s security cameras.” Tony smiled. “We figured out what you were after and decided to play along to see how much you could take before you finally snapped. Call it payback.”

Loki gritted his teeth. “You played along and made me look like a fool this whole time!”

“Nay, Loki, you are the one who made yourself look like a fool.” Thor smiled. “And now I must take you back to Asgard.”

Fear washed over Loki’s face. “And then what?”

Thor smirked, turning to look at Hawkeye. “I might just take Hawkeye’s advice.”

A huge grin appeared across Hawkeye’s face. “It’s about time.”

Loki glanced nervously between Thor and Hawkeye, his mind racing back to what Hawkeye said earlier.

“No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Please, no! Anything but that!” Loki held up his hands. “I-I-I’ll even take a beating from the Hulk!”

“Come, brother, we have much to discuss.” Thor grabbed hold of Loki, wrapping his arm around him tightly. Turning, he walked past the others and disappeared through the doorway. Loki kicked and pleaded and protested the whole way.

“Loki might be a pain, but I wouldn’t want to be in his boots right now,” Tony said with a chuckle.

The rest of the Avengers burst out laughing.

 

-The End


End file.
